“What if,” Father Keller thought, “what if all of us were to light a
candle in this
world of darkness. We could change the world.” Father Keller made a decision
there and then to dedicate the rest of his life to spreading the word that
nobody is like you, and that you can make a difference for the good.
-- Introduction, P9
world of darkness. We could change the world.” Father Keller made a decision
there and then to dedicate the rest of his life to spreading the word that
nobody is like you, and that you can make a difference for the good.
-- Introduction, P9
“You are a Christopher if you are lighting
a candle of love everywhere you go,” summarizes the Christopher movement,
started by Father James Keller in 1945.
I greatly admire people who have heard God’s small still voice, and are
making a difference in this world, and so Fr. Keller’s words resonated deeply
within me. This book is a selection of
the writings of Fr. Keller, short one-page moral stories designed to illustrate
how small things any of us can do, or an attitude we can exhibit, can make huge
difference in this world. I love the
Church’s answer to big government, in its call to subsidiary; Fr Keller shows
us with practical examples how it is done.
“This book aims … to add spiritual meaning and purpose to
daily lives … to remind persons that God has given you a special mission. If
you cooperate, the world itself will be better because you have been in
it. There is no better pedagogy … than
the silent witness of a Christian life.
This very uplifting book will be high on my Christmas
gift-giving list. Read it to warm your
heart. Live it to brighten your
eternity. In your very busy everyday
life, you can --- and should --- make a difference.
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For my fellow bloggers, I offer just one page (P119), one
story from this book:
Don’t Just Feel Sorry, Do Something
On a mountain trail in the Andes a traveler met a farmer
riding on a mule, while his wife walked along behind him.
“Why isn’t your wife riding?” the traveler asked the farmer.
“Because,” the farmer replied “she has no mule.”
It is even possible, when you come to think of it that the farmer felt sorry for his wife. He may have thought to himself: “Too bad my wife has to walk. Now if only she had a mule!”
How often do we do this! How often we fail to help those in need, out of the abundance of the things we possess, yet feel sorry for them! We express sympathy and do nothing. And all the while there lie right at hand the means whereby we could relieve their burden.
“Why isn’t your wife riding?” the traveler asked the farmer.
“Because,” the farmer replied “she has no mule.”
It is even possible, when you come to think of it that the farmer felt sorry for his wife. He may have thought to himself: “Too bad my wife has to walk. Now if only she had a mule!”
How often do we do this! How often we fail to help those in need, out of the abundance of the things we possess, yet feel sorry for them! We express sympathy and do nothing. And all the while there lie right at hand the means whereby we could relieve their burden.
“Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when
did we see you hungry or thirsty or a
stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister
to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen,
I say to you, what you did not do for one of
these least ones, you did not do for me.’”
Mt 25:44-45
did we see you hungry or thirsty or a
stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister
to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen,
I say to you, what you did not do for one of
these least ones, you did not do for me.’”
Mt 25:44-45
GRANT US, O LORD, TO
KNOW NOT ONLY WHAT WE OUGHT TO DO,
BUT ALSO THE WAY IN WHICH WE CAN DO IT.
BUT ALSO THE WAY IN WHICH WE CAN DO IT.
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